Bellusso Jewelers Blog

For those of you who are not only watch lovers, but also astronomy lovers, we have the watch for you. At the beginning of this year at the SIHH exhibition in Geneva, Vacheron Constantin unveiled its newest work of art: Metiers d’Art Copernicus Celestial Spheres 2460RT. Offered in three variations, the new watch brings horology, technology and science to the wrist.

Inspired by scientist and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus and his astronomical discovery of heliocentrism (that the Earth revolves around the sun instead of the other way around), Vacheron Constantin built an all-new movement to honor his revolutionary find. The in-house-made 352-part Caliber 2460RT was three years in the development stages and offers an original display of time that shows the zodiac signs and the Earth — revolving around a center sun.

Each of the three versions of the watch holds the same concept but in extremely different renditions that recall the graphic depictions of the galaxy created by Andreas Cellarius, a 17th century Dutch-German cartographer. For each watch, the sun sits in the center of the dial, and a round Earth orb revolves around it. On an outer dial ring, the 12 zodiac signs are depicted in one of the three different styles: hand engraving in baroque style; a Grand Feu enamel dial in ocean blue; a laser- and hand-engraved sapphire disk.

The time on each of these 43mm gold watches is displayed by two triangular peripheral hands (an outlined one for the hours and a solid one for the minutes). The “Earth” rotates on its axis in a 24-hour rotation period and, thanks to a tropical gear train that emulates Earth’s elliptical orbit around the Sun (365.2421898 days — or one tropical year), the Earth orb on the dial orbits the sun at that same speed. The mechanism is so precise that only once in 8,000 years will it need an adjustment. Stop in any time to see our amazing collection of Vacheron Constantin watches.

Taking inspiration from its archival pocket watches, Vacheron Constantin unveils an all new Traditionnelle Chrono Perpetual Calendar watch, featuring an in-house-made 1142 QP caliber. The 43mm platinum watch holds the Hallmark of Geneva certification. In order to qualify for the prestigious seal, the movement and the watch must be made in the canton of Geneva and must be keenly finished according to strict Hallmark of Geneva standards, known as one of the most rigorous certifications.

Designed and developed entirely in house, the watch offers date, days, months, leap years and moon phases, as well as a direct-drive seconds hand and 30-minute counter for the column-wheel chronograph. The calendar will need no adjustment until March 1, 2100. The new 324-part, mechanical caliber offers 48 hours of power reserve and replaces the previous 1141 QP (which beat at 2.5Hz). The caliber is visible via a sapphire crystal caseback. Key styling elements of this watch include the stepped case, fluted pattern on the back, dauphine-style hands, and the white tachymeter scale and railway minute track.

The gray dial boasts a 22-karat white gold moon display with a smiling moon face and a serious moon face like the old pocket watches. While this new watch is not in stores yet, we invite you in to see our great selection of Vacheron Constantin timepieces. This is, after all, the longest continually operated watch brand in the world.

Watches made of noble metals are exquisite in look and feel. Such is the case with the Vacheron Constantin Harmony collection. Earlier this year, we introduced you to the luxurious new collection of cushion-shaped watches that had been unveiled at the SIHH (the world’s foremost luxury watch exhibition) in Geneva. Now, we are happy to say, "They're here," and we want to show them again because they're worth another look.

Inspired by the past, but with an eye to the future, the cushion-shaped Harmony line pays tribute to the brand’s 260th year of continuous production. It is inspired by a chronograph first introduced in 1928, yet the renditions are timeless — and ultra thin. There are eight ultra-thin watches in the collection, including a Dual Time watch, a Monopusher split-seconds chronograph, a Monopusher Chronograph with a Tourbillon and others — for both men and women. Additionally, these watches boast new movements that have been designed and manufactured in-house over the course of the seven years that it took the brand to develop the collection. They all bear the Geneva Seal and, depending on the model, are offered in gold or platinum.

The Harmony Dual Time

Available in both pink and white gold, the Harmony Dual Time displays the second time zone at the four/five o’clock position and a day/night indicator at the seven. It is powered by the self-winding caliber 2460DT comprised of 233 parts, and features a decorated oscillating weight. Additionally, the Harmony Dual Time comes in several versions, including a smaller diamond-adorned stunner that features the same movement as the larger model. Exactly 500 pieces of the diamond version are being produced.

The Harmony Chronograph

The Harmony Chronograph is a stunning interpretation of the 1928 chronograph by the brand. It is a monopusher chronograph with a pulsimeter scale. It is powered by the 252-part hand-wound caliber 3300 and offers a 45-minute timer at three o’clock and a 60-second timer at nine o’clock. Similar to the Dual Time, there is a diamond-adorned version, as well.

Harmony Tourbillon Chronograph

The Tourbillon Chronograph is a monopusher chronograph powered by the hand-wound caliber 3200 and is housed in a platinum case. The dial displays a single register chronograph at three o’clock. The Tourbillon escapement is at 12:00 for balance. The chronograph displays a 45-minute timer, which is highly unusual. The Tourbillon sports a robust 65 hours of power reserve.

We invite you to stop in any time to take a close-up look at the elegance, precision and craftsmanship inherent in the watches made by Vacheron Constantin, the oldest continuously running watch manufacture in the world.

Before we delve into the superlative new Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260 — the world's most complicated watch — we need to tell you one thing right up front: This watch is sold. It was sold before it was even made. That's because the watch was the result of a special order from a collector who commissioned the brand to build the most complicated watch of the 21st century.

Vacheron Constantin, which has always created special timepieces for clients, rose to the occasion — putting a team of three master watchmakers onto the job. That was eight years ago. Indeed, the newest most complicated watch in the world took eight years to build. It boasts 57 complications and houses more than 2,800 movement parts.

The watch was unveiled in Geneva recently at the brand's 260th anniversary celebrations. It represents a huge effort in advanced technology and human ability. Several of the complications — including the Hebraic Perpetual Calendar — have never before been built into a wristwatch.

But this ability harkens back a century ago to when Vacheron Constantin was breaking world records as it vied for the most complicated watch title. Vacheron Constantin built a legendary watch for James Ward Packard, who, in the 1920s and 1930s, had a healthy competition going with Henry Graves, as each sought out the most complicated watch. That rivalry resulted in some of the most famous — and complicated — watches of all times, built by Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe.

The new watch is made for the current century — with incredible technical solutions to existing complications and with new complications, including a spherical tourbillon, astronomical sky chart, multiple different types of calendars and Westminster chimes.

The double sided Reference 57260 is cased in a white gold, 960-gram, nearly 100mm case and is a force to be reckoned with. It boasts more than 30 hands to indicate its multiple functions, which we list for you, below.

Indication for the number of months in the Hebraic calendar year (12 or 13 months)

Indication for the Golden Number with 19-year cycle

Functions of the Astronomic Calendar

Indications for the seasons, equinoxes, solstices and signs of the Zodiac with “sun” hand

The sky chart

Sidereal time hours

Sidereal time minutes

Hours of sunrise

Hours of sunset

Equation of time

Length of the day

Length of the night

Lunar Calendar Function

Phases and age of the moon, one correction every 1027 years

Religious Calendar Function

Indication for the date of Yom Kippur

Functions of the 3-Column Wheel Chronograph

Retrograde fifths of a second chronograph – 1 column wheel

Retrograde fifths of a second Rattrapante chronograph, 1 column wheel

12-hour counter – 1 column wheel

60-minute counter

Alarm Functions

Alarm with single gong and hammer striking

Alarm strike / silence indicator

Choice of normal alarm or carillon striking alarm indicator

Alarm mechanism coupled to the carillon striking mechanism

Alarm striking with choice of grande or petite sonnerie

Alarm power-reserve indication

Westminster Carillon Striking Functions

Carillon Westminster chiming with 5 gongs and 5 hammers

Grande sonnerie passing strike

Petite sonnerie passing strike

Minute repeating

Night silence feature

System to disengage the striking barrel when fully wound

Indication for grande or petite sonnerie modes

Indication for silence / striking / night modes

Further functions

Power-reserve indication for the going train

Power-reserve indication for the striking train

Winding crown position indicator

Locking mechanism for the striking

Winding system for the double barrels

Hand-setting system with two positions and two directions

Concealed flush-fit winding crown for the alarm mechanism

About the Store

Welcome to Bellusso Jewelers, pure luxury for the discriminating shopper. This romantic terrace-styled row of boutiques is located on the casino level of the Palazzo Hotel, Resort & Casino between the Venetian’s restaurant row and the Palazzo’s grand casino. Sophisticated, elegant and strikingly opulent, Bellusso Jewelers boasts the most stunning array of jewelry and timepieces from some of the most celebrated brand names in the world.